The present subject matter relates generally to methods of packaging products, specifically, containers.
Many containers, such as disposable food storage containers and reusable bakeware, are sold in product packages containing two or more containers stacked on each other or nested partially within each other.
The containers are held together by a variety of methods. For example, the containers may be held together by thin cardboard paper folded around the containers, wherein the cardboard is adhered to itself, essentially forming a box-like structure around the containers. The cardboard typically has product marketing displayed on the outer surface, as well as the bar code used for purchase. However, the use of cardboard is not environmentally friendly and requires a high labor cost of assembly.
The most used method of securing containers together involves shrink-wrapping the containers together with a specific type of plastic that, upon heating, is capable of shrinking to form a plastic seal around an article. Typically, in an assembly line operation, a person will loosely put a plastic sleeve around the article, the article with the plastic sleeve will proceed to a high temperature zone, where the plastic shrinks around the article, and maintains the shrunk shape at room temperature. However, the shink-wrap, when exposed to increased temperatures, such as during shipping in the summer months, may change shape and fail to hold containers together. In addition, this process not only requires human labor of placing plastic sleeves around each package product, but also requires a higher energy cost owing to the increase in temperature required to reshape the plastic, as well as being environmentally unfriendly.
Accordingly there is a need for a packaging method that is cost effective, reduces manual labor, environmentally friendly, and more efficient than conventional methods.